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ST. LOUIS — The largest U.S. pharmacy benefit manager will soon limit opioid drugs for first-time users as part f a wide-ranging effort to curb an epidemic.[...] the new program from Express Scripts is drawing criticism from the American Medical Association, the largest association of physicians and medical students in the U.S., which believes treatment plans should be left to doctors and patients.Express Scripts started a yearlong pilot program in 2016 to reduce patients’ dependency on opioids and the risk of addiction, said Snezana Mahon, the company’s vice president of clinical product development.Mahon said analysis of 106,000 patients in the program showed a 38 percent reduction in hospitalizations and a 40 percent drop in emergency room visits, compared with a control group.The program is scheduled to take effect nationwide on Sept. 1 for Express Scripts members whose employer or health insurer has enrolled to participate.Dosage is also limited, and the company will monitor and try to prevent for patterns of potential “pill shopping,” where a patient goes from doctor to doctor to collect prescriptions.Harris said doctors have reduced such prescriptions by 17 percent over the past couple of years and are directing patients to other forms of pain management, including physical therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy.

Genomics startups are increasing in number and quality, so much so that three-year-old Illumina Accelerator has expanded with its latest class to accommodate five of them. Xconomy got an early look at the specialty accelerator’s sixth cohort, which includes a company named for a butterfly and the accelerator’s first digital health startup. Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN), […]